


Like Burnished Copper

by ScarlettFAngell



Category: Original Work
Genre: Age Difference, Alerick is an Idiot, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Arranged Marriage, Auctions, Australia, Awkward Kissing, Blow Jobs, Bride price, Colonial Australia, Dubious Consent, Ezra is an Idiot, First Time Blow Jobs, First Time Bottoming, Forced Marriage, Historical, Injury Recovery, Knotting, Light Bondage, Light Dom/sub, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Military Training, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Power Imbalance, Scarring, Slow Burn, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Victorian, Virginity, a/b/o dynamics, auctioning off of virginity, bride buying, discussion of injuries/scarring, gambling debts, heat/rut cycles, mentions of said debts in relation to auctioning off someone's virginity, naval training, omergaverse, past trauma, private auctions, war veteran - Alerick
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:08:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26680420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScarlettFAngell/pseuds/ScarlettFAngell
Summary: Alerick Bedivere is a renowned war veteran, Alpha and rumoured privateer, previously employed by the East India Trading Company and recently retired to his estate in Perth, Australia. He's content to live out his days alone with just his sister for company when he's approached by one of the local members of a gentlemen's club. Ezra Calder is an Omega and his father just put his virginity up for private auction. They're offering him an invite to the club so he can submit a bid. Of course, Alerick is intrigued and immediately on edge. He knows what happens at these auctions. He's been to them before. And the results are not always pretty. So he attends and is immediately captivated by the young Mr Calder's beauty.Ezra is not oblivious. In fact, he's quite upset. He had protested, vehemently but was brought to auction, a virgin Omega. Guaranteed to be untouched. Purely because the Calder family is destitute thanks to his father's gambling debts. And now his father is resorting to selling him to the highest bidder. Ezra's furious--at least until he lays eyes on the man who brought him, who is not nearly as scary as the stories about him make him seem.
Relationships: Alerick Bedivere/Ezra Calder
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22





	Like Burnished Copper

** Chapter One  **

_**It had been a month since he'd**_ returned home; a month since he'd held his sister and niece in his arms and pressed his face into their hair, breathed them in, registered that he was home and they were safe, and that he was officially retired. Six since the accident, two since they'd told him there were sending him home. And now, judging by the inistent knocking on his front door, he had a visitor. 

Alerick groaned and got up stiffly, using his new walking stick to help. He waved off the maid as she hurried to help and the butler, too, when he went to answer the door for him. Both were calm, well-mannered betas, and Alerick didn't want to give them more to do when there was already so much to do. He sighed and pulled the door open part-way, leaning heavily against the doorjam. He frowned at the sight of the blonde Alpha outside and raised an eyebrow. 

"Benjamin--" 

"I had heard you returned, old friend," the other Alpha side, smilnig bright and moving to hug him. He held up a hand, keeping his old friend from approaching. Benjamin pouted--so unlike an alpha, it was ridiculous and he had to scoff at him. "I was waiting for an invitation, but when none came, I began to worry." 

"Ben--" He cut himself off and sighed, moving to give the other man room to enter the house. "Come inside, before you make a mess of yourself all over my front steps." 

"I wouldn't dare!" his friend side and sidled into the house. Alerick closed the door and moved to follow him into the front sitting room--the west one to the left for gentlemen. The right--the east--sitting room was the ladies' parlour. "But you must hear this fascinating little piece of gossip I had just heard of from Marcus!" 

"Gossip, hm?" he asked and nodded to the maid when she gestured back towards the kitchen, knowing that she would go and fetch some tea and biscuits. He followed Benjamin to the lounges nad eased himself down into the seat with a soft groan. "Never took you for a gossiping little Omega, Ben." 

Ben sent him a glare, taking a seat opposite him. "How dare you." 

He smirked and leaned back, shifting the cane to rest in against the arm of his chair. "Oh, I dare, old friend," he said, grinning wildly and ignoring the maid as she bustled into the room with the tray of tea and biscuits. "As I always do." 

Benjamin was, indeed, an old friend, from his privateering days. Which were no longer his to revel in. He sighed and rubbed as his face, considering how to continue, what to say to his dear friend as the maid quickly set up their tea and biscuits before bustling back out, tray in hand. He was saved the trouble when Ben leaned forwards and produced a very elegant but very plain, engraved invitation. 

"There is to be an auction, Alerick," he whispered conspiratorially. "Of an Omega's virtue." 

That piqued his interest, and he also leaned forwards, moving to pour them both tea. "Fascinating," Alerick murmured, focusing on the tea and not the pain in his knee from having to move. An auction? For an Omega's virtue? Their...virginity? What an antiquated practice, but a desperate one, apparently. "For whom? And when?" 

"A few night's time," Ben told him, setting the invitation down between them and then snatching a biscuit from the plate. "Calder's youngest. Apparently, he's an omega. His siblings, though--all alpha or beta, even the sister." 

He made a soft noise of intrigue and raised an eyebrow, glancing over at the invitation as he finished pouring to study it carefully. It just stated a private auction, to be held at the gentlemen's club, Trinity's, on William Street.  _Tomorrow_ night. Alerick frowned at it.  _A few night's time, huh? Liar._

"And you know this...auction is for this Omega's virtue, how?" He studied his friend closely, watching his reaction. Ben grimaced and glanced away. Shame.  _How interesting..._

Ben gestured vaguely, shrugging. "The entire town has heard the rumours," he said, lowering his voice and leaning towards him. "Marcus got the invitation as well, as did most the Alphas in town. But I heard from the servants at Trinity's that Calder's in debt, to several persons, and that they have no money whatsoever--"

Alerick cut him off. "They're penniless..."

"Yes," Ben agreed softly, nodding. "Penniless and _in debt._ "

"Interesting," he murmured, setting the tea pot down to pick up the invitation. "And how far in debt is Mr Calder, Ben?"

The other Alpha blinked at him, glanced about is if to check for listening ears, and then said, "At least five thousand pounds, Alerick, or thereabouts."

Alerick blinked, slowly. That was...quite a bit. He frowned and flipped the thick card over to read the back--there was a number printed there. It stated the card was number twenty-two. Ah, so that is why they were given the invitations. Everett Calder was a callus man, asking for them to bid on his son's virginity like so.

Bride-buying was not illegeal, per se...but it was certainly heading towards taboo. He hadn't seen it very often anymore, and he, unfortunately, knew intimately what such an auction was like. It was, in fact, how his sister was, ah...sold. By their grandfather before the cranky old Alpha had died. Fortunately, he new mate was old and forgiving, and had merely asked for a single child to be borne, regardless of gender. He had been quite pleased to hear it was a girl and had died a year later, leaving everything to Adrianna--and, by extension, the Bedivere household.

"He's setting up an auction for Alphas to buy his son," he said slowly, flipping the card back over. "To get us to bid on him....make us pay a bride-price, just to get a glimpse of pretty Omega skin..." Alerick scowled darkly. "Disgusting."

"Disgusting?" Ben asked, frowning at him. He glanced up, meeting Ben's gaze steadily. "So you do not want to attend?"

Alerick snorted. "Oh, no. It might be a disgusting practice, but I had never been one to shy away from, hm..." He paused, considering his words. "Not-so-appropriate situations, have I?"

His friend laughed. "True," he said, smiling widely. "Very true."

"I was, after all, once a pirate." He shrugged, holding up the card. "Not yours, I take it?"

Ben shook his head. "No, I have my own. You may keep that one."

"Thank you," he murmured and tucked the card into the pocket of his coat. "I suppose we have an auction to prepare for."

The other Alpha took his leave and Alerick sat there for several minutes, pondering the implications of the auction, of what might happen if he were to purchase the boy as a bride--or rather, groom. What it would mean to have a sweet little Omega roaming Bedivere Estate? He felt himself growing hard at the thought and growled, grabbing his cane to get up, but right at that moment a cheerful little girl with black hair and soft grey eyes came barrelling into the room, her pretty blue dress rustling as she practically pounced on him. It sent all thoughts of pretty Omegas from him mind, and all his breath out of him, with a soft  _oomph!_

"Uncle Alec!" the little brat said, clinging to him, and Alerick sighed, catching sight of his sister in the front hall, just shedding her gloves. He offered her a weak smile before turning his attention to his niece as she pulled back to stare up at him. She still wore her pretty blue bonnet. "We saw a goat!"

"Hello, Ashe. Did you now?" He energy and enthusiam amused him. "Where? In the market, perhaps?"

She nodded. "It was all grey and mottled," she told him, shifting slightly and digging a bony knee into his thigh. He studiously ignored that and tried not to wince. "Mother said I couldn't have it, though..."

Alerick sent his sister a knowing look. Adrianna rolled her eyes at him. "Is that so?" He lowered his voice and leaned in to whisper to her conspiratorially, knowing his sister could hear every word. "Well, how about I buy you a puppy later on? When your mother isn't looking?"

"Really?!" His niece giggled and threw her arms around his neck, hugging tightly. Alerick met his sister's eyes over her shoulder and grinned. Adrianna just sighed and shook her head, then swept off into the house, towards the kitchen.

"Of course, Ashe," he murmured, hugging her back one-armed. "I promise."

_Don't make promises you can't keep_ , he scolded himself, sighing softly. But this... This was a promise he  _could_ keep. Because it would make his niece happy, and it was within he power to do so. It couldn't be that hard to send one of the servants into town to procure a pup, could it? Perhaps one of those new terriers he'd been hearing about.

Eventually, he pulled back and cupped her cheek, smiling fondly. "I think, you lady, that it's time for dinner, hm?" He raised an eyebrow and patted her cheek, grip tightening on his cane as her knee dug into his thigh again. "Off you go to wash up, little one."

She giggled and slid off his lap and then darted out of the room and up the stairs. He could hear her stepped thundering up to the first floor landing and down the hall. Once she was gone, he groaned and rubbed his knee, and then stood slowly, stiffly. Then he headed off to find his sister.

Alerick found her in the kitchen with the kitchen staff, tending to dinner. She didn't need to do so, but it helped her feel useful, so he didn't begrude her the right. He merely watched for a moment, leaning heavily on the cane.

"A puppy, Alerick?" she asked, glancing up at him from the potato she had been peeling. "Really?"

He shrugged. "You said she could not have the goat. I thought it would be an acceptable compromise."

Adrianna sighed and went back to peeling the potato, finishing it and setting it aside to pick up the next. She glanced up. "I suppose I can allow it," she said, a smile playing about the corner of her lips. "At the very least, it should keep her occupied."

"And out of trouble," he added, smirking.

"Hopefully," his sister corrected, chuckling fondly. "We were quite the pair when we were younger, weren't we?"

Oh, he remembered. They truly were, always getting into trouble and making mischief. It drove their parents and grandfather mad. "Very much so."

They fell into a comfortable silence for a moment, Alerick watching as his sister and the staff worked to make dinner. It was a pleasantly domestic sight, and made him long for someone to share such company with--that was not also his sister. Companionship, he supposed. That would be what he wanted, and with this auction... Speaking of the auction... He cleared his throat, drawing his sister's attention. She frowned at him, pausing in her task.

"There is to be an...auction," he hedged carefully, knowing she would understand. By the look in her face, she did. And she did not look very impressed. "I know, I know--"

"Who?" she demanded, staring him down. His sister might just be a beta, but that look? That was all alpha. "Who is to be auctioned?"

Alerick sighed. "Calder's youngest."

"Ezra?" she asked in surprise, eyes widening. "I wonder why..." She trailed off and then grimaced. "Ah... That would be why."

"Mmh, I heard that he's, ah, struggling, shall I say?" He smiled grimly. "By several thousand pouds."

"I did hear such gossip," Adrianna murmured thoughtfully. "In town today. Hm." She gave him a piercing look. "Are you planning to attend?"

He nodded and she exhaled heavily. "Make sure you win."

"Of course, sister."


End file.
